Northwest looks to stay unbeaten, Creek starts region play in week 5 schedule

Sep. 16—Northwest looks to continue unbeaten start in first game against Darlington

Northwest Whitfield High School is 4-0, and if the Bruins want to complete their five-game non-region schedule undefeated and reach a 5-0 start for the first time in nine years, they'll have to go through a new opponent.

Northwest travels to Rome to play private school Darlington (3-0) tonight at 7:30, the first matchup between the programs.

Northwest started 4-0 two years ago, but the Bruins haven't been 5-0 since 2013. Darlington, a Class A Division I school, is also undefeated and has won each of its games by at least 12 points, including a 45-22 win over Sonoraville, an upcoming Region 7-4A opponent for Northwest.

Senior quarterback Owen Brooker and the Northwest Whitfield offense have been impressive. Aided by a few defensive scores, Northwest has scored at least 30 points in each of its four games.

Once Northwest gets through the test with Darlington, the Bruins will have a week off before playing at Sonoraville on Sept. 30 to open region play.

Creek begins region play with home game against Ridgeland

If Coahulla Creek High School is aiming to make the playoffs for the first time in school history this season, tonight's game provides the first opportunity to take a step toward that goal.

The Colts (2-1) open their seven-game Region 6-3A schedule with a home game against Ridgeland (0-3) at 7:30 p.m.

The Colts have looked sharp through their three games, with two blowout wins sandwiched around a last-minute loss to undefeated Northwest Whitfield, and tonight's game will be the first to count toward playoff standings.

Creek brings in a potent passing attack. Quarterback Kace Kinnamon leads Region 6-3A in passing yards (649) and touchdowns (7), while receiver Manny Dominguez has 216 of those yards and five touchdowns to lead the region in both categories.

It's the first ever game for the Colts against Ridgeland, which has lost each of its three games so far by at least 13 points. Ridgeland fell 20-7 to North Cobb Christian, 56-19 to North Murray and 35-7 to Heritage.

Dalton travels to Marietta to play Lassiter

Dalton High School (1-2) spent the previous two weeks falling against teams from lower classifications.

The Class 5A Catamounts fell at 4A Sonoraville before a defeat by 2A Rockmart last week.

The competition gets bigger tonight, when the Cats play on the road against Class 6A Lassiter (2-1) at 7:30.

Lassiter, in Marietta, lost to Etowah to open the season before reeling off wins over Wheeler and Woodstock.

While Dalton's been going the opposite direction — losing two straight after a season-opening win over North Murray — the play of senior running back Tyson Greenwade hasn't.

Greenwade has just more than 800 yards of combined rushing and receiving yardage through the three games to go with 13 touchdowns, 12 of which have come on the ground.

Southeast welcomes Armuchee in search of third win

A 2-0 start for Southeast Whitfield High School was deflated a bit when the Raiders (2-1) lost 46-22 on Sept. 2 to Gordon Lee, but after an idle week Southeast hopes to get back in the win column against Armuchee (2-1).

Southeast hosts Armuchee, a team also looking for a bounce-back, tonight at 7:30.

Armuchee also had a 2-0 start punctured by a defeat, a 42-10 loss last week against Union County.

This will be the third meeting between the schools, all in the last three years.

Southeast defeated Armuchee 20-7 for its only win in 2020, then Armuchee, a Class A Division I program, won 24-14 over the Class 4A Raiders last year.

Despite each team only playing three games so far, they have played two common opponents. Both beat Gordon Central, but Armuchee knocked off Gordon Lee, which beat Southeast.

Christian Heritage returns from off week to play Pickens

After two straight road games before an off week last week, Christian Heritage School (1-2) is back on the road again tonight against Pickens (0-3).

The Lions play in Jasper at 7:30.

Pickens' 0-3 includes a 54-50 loss to North Murray in which the Dragons led by 10 in the fourth quarter. The other two losses, to Sonoraville and Fannin County, were a little more convincing.

Christian Heritage is 1-2, with losses to North Cobb Christian and Darlington sandwiching a win at Temple.

Eli Thomason has made the offense go for Christian Heritage. He leads the Lions in both rushing and receiving yards and has accounted for five touchdowns, two rushing and three receiving.

Murray, Chattooga both look for first win

One team of Indians will leave Murray Field in Chatsworth tonight with its first win.

The 0-3 Murray County High School Indians host the 0-3 Chattooga Indians at 7:30, both searching for a victory.

The first season for Murray County under new head coach Kurt Napier has started out with the three losses, with a 13-7 overtime loss against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in week two the closest Murray's come to victory so far.

Chattooga has been a little further away from wins, falling by at least 25 in each contest.

Murray will likely need to put up more offense to claim that first victory. The green-clad Indians have managed just 14 total points through three games.